A blog for folks who love using and making handmade soap

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Last weekend I taught another group of aspiring soapmakers at The Nova Studio. The Cold Process 101 Soapmaking class seemed to be a popular activity to share, as there were several sets of friends/sisters/BFFs taking the class together. I suggested that they also make soap together. Making soap with a buddy is a lot of fun. And I love the idea of sharing on the clean-up, too!

The clear bucket makes it easier for everyone to see what's happening during this part of the class. I'm adding colorant to my batch of Citrus Mint soap.

Most of the CP101 students came back after lunch to make their first batch of soap in the new Cold Process 201 “Make and Take” class. In this lab session, each student got a plain batch of soap that I mixed up for them, and they got to add scent and color and additives to make it their own.

I had to use two large pots to make enough soap for everybody.

First, students mixed up their own batches in the plastic buckets...

This batch was colored with Rose Clay and has poppy seeds for "scrubbiness".

Then they poured the batch into a cardboard tube that was lined with a plastic bag.

Fill 'er up!

Once the soap hardens up at home, they can pull the bag out of the tube, peel off the plastic and cut their “soap salami” into neat round bars.

Here's a batch of uncolored soap that I poured for Lori to have at The Nova Studio. She sliced it with the crinkle cutter.

Together, these two classes are a great introduction to the pleasure of making your own soap. We sent each student home with extra liners so the tube mold can be reused for the next batch. And from the way everyone was lovingly carrying out their soaps, I’m sure there WILL be a next batch!